The NBA's Absolute Dominance

Chapter 105 All-Star Eastern Conference Starting Center

On the 20th, the Heat hosted the Nuggets at home, and Tang Bei also encountered his hated Kristen Laettner.

The Nuggets currently have a record of 10 wins and 25 losses, with a winning percentage of only 28.6%, ranking 12th in the Western Conference, second to last, only ahead of the Mavericks with a record of 3 wins and 30 losses.

Enemies are extremely jealous when they meet.

In the players' tunnel, as the starting lineups met, Christine Leitner's eyes immediately turned cold when she saw Tang Bei.

Tang Bei naturally disliked Lightner as well, and glared back at him, his sharp, knife-like gaze immediately causing Lightner to look away.

Tonight, his opponent is not Laettner, but Dikembe Mutombo, the fourth overall pick in the 1991 draft and a second-year player who became an All-Star reserve in his rookie season.

Mutombo was also sizing up Tang Bei.

He knew that Tang Bei lacked experience in the game, but with his talent he could play a first-class defensive game. Given time, he might even win the DPOY award earlier than him.

In the NBC studio, Bill Russell said, "Mutombo is a defensive center, 218 cm tall with a wingspan of 231 cm, and currently weighs 115 kg."

He is one of the few centers in the league currently capable of effectively defending Tang one-on-one; another is David Robinson, and the third will be Hakeem Olajuwon.

Bill Walton said, "Ewing's game didn't finish, but he was definitely at a disadvantage."

Larry Bird said, "Mutombo is averaging 13.8 points, 13 rebounds, and 3.5 blocks per game this season. His rebounding and shot-blocking abilities are outstanding."

Tang is currently averaging 31.5 points, 13.8 rebounds, and 3.1 blocks per game. His scoring has increased significantly since joining the Heat, ranking second in the league only to Michael Jordan. His offensive capabilities are extremely strong, and he is dominant in the low post.

Bill Russell said, "In terms of rebounding, Tang still lacks experience, mainly because his anticipation ability needs to be improved."

Otherwise, with his superior ability to box out, move quickly, and jump, his rebounding would definitely be far superior to Mutombo's.

Larry Bird nodded and said, "The same reason applies to blocks. He lacks experience in blocking, and he doesn't put as much effort into defense as Mutombo."

Bill Walton said expectantly, "Today Mutombo will face one of the most dominant low-post centers in the entire league. It will be a test for him, and for Tang as well."

Larry Bird suddenly said, "Don and Lightner had a conflict at rookie camp. Do you think their conflict will continue tonight?"

Bill Russell said, "Don is extremely tough, but he doesn't have the habit of provoking people first. As long as Lightner doesn't cause trouble, he'll be safe."

“Haha…” Larry Bird laughed.

Bill Walton said with a smile, "At present, Laettner has not fully realized his potential. He averages 18.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game, which is not bad, but he is no longer a rookie on the same level as Tang, O'Neal and Mourning."

The competition began at 8:00 AM sharp.

Tang Bei and Mutombo jump for the ball, and the Heat attack.

Tang Bei moved to the low post on the left wing and started to press deep, with Mutombo starting to defend him.

"What a power!"

Mutombo's strength was also considerable, extremely strong, but even with his best efforts, he couldn't withstand the onslaught.

The Heat's offensive tactics revolved around Tang Beilai. The ball was passed from the top of the arc to Glen Rice on the left wing, who then passed it down.

Tang Bei received the ball and posted up, and after two consecutive fierce side-step post-ups, Mutombo would have been knocked over if he hadn't had strong anticipation and pulled his chair back in advance.

However, his removal of the stool did not have a negative effect on Tang Bei. Tang Bei's low horse stance resulted in a very low center of gravity, and years of horse stance and wrestling practice made his lower body too stable.

The next instant, noticing the defender remove the bench, Tang Bei immediately seized the opportunity to gather the ball, performed a Tai Chi turn, spun down the baseline, and suddenly attacked the basket.

"tornado!"

Mutombo tensed up, quickly turned to the right, and tried to use his body to block Tang Bei and prevent him from attacking the basket.

But Tang Bei turned around too quickly, and Mutombo's idea of ​​close combat failed to materialize. As he approached, Tang Bei leaped up like a raging tiger.

"boom!"

With a powerful two-handed slam, the Nuggets' rim was shattered.

Bill Russell said, "Mutombo couldn't defend against the first tornado."

Bill Walton said, "Mutombo's defense is good primarily because of his physical attributes, but that's not an advantage against Tang."

Secondly, he is very agile, has a good jumping ability, and a fast jumping speed. However, these advantages are not advantages in front of Tang, who is more agile and can jump faster and higher.

Thirdly, he has excellent defensive awareness and strong anticipation skills, which are his advantages in defending Tang. If he doesn't utilize these advantages effectively, he won't be able to stop Tang.

Larry Bird said, "His disadvantages against Tang Bei are also obvious, in terms of physicality and strength, which is also the disadvantage of all centers against Tang."

Bill Walton changed the subject, saying, "After leaving Tangbei for the Heat, Glen Rice went from being the primary scorer to the secondary scorer, with his average points per game dropping from 19 to 17."

But he got more open looks and more space, and his shooting percentage improved from 44% to 47.5%, which I think is a good thing for him.

Larry Bird said, "The Heat averaged 103.6 points per game when Ronnie Sekkali was still playing, and now they average 110.3 points, an increase of 6.7 points."

Ronnie Sekkali averaged 17 points per game, while Don averaged 31 points, a difference of 14 points. Subtracting the 6.7 points increase, this means the other players' scoring decreased by 7 points.

Bill Walton nodded and said, "But the Heat's shooting percentage has improved from 45.6% to 49.8%, so Tang's high scoring and the other players' reduced scoring, including Glen Rice, is the right choice."

The game continued. The Nuggets were not as strong as the Heat, and Tang Bei was attacking with all his might at home. It was also the first quarter when he had the most energy, so he was suppressed.

Nuggets head coach Dan Issel did not ask Laettner to help Tang Bei on the weak side, because Tang Bei's tornado-like attack was already well-known to help defenders.

Furthermore, Laettner and Tang Bei have a conflict, and the Nuggets and Heat are not competitors. For a regular season game, there is absolutely no need to risk Laettner's life.

Although Leitner desperately wanted to kill Tang Bei, he dared not take action.

Lacking defensive support, Mutombo once again proved that a superstar cannot be stopped by one person, nor can Tang Bei be stopped by one person alone.

At the end, the Heat won by a margin of 25 points, 96-121.

唐北在穆托姆博的头上22投14中，命中率63.6%，11罚7中，轰下了35分14篮板3助攻2抢断4盖帽的数据。

He got blocked by Mutombo, but he returned two blocks, making up for it by holding Mutombo to 2-for-7 shooting, with 4 points, 2 assists and 4 blocks.

Leitner was blocked twice by Tang Bei, scoring 14 points.

Six Heat players scored in double figures, with Glen Rice scoring 24 points and Steve Smith adding 21.

The Heat have won five straight games, bringing their record to 20 wins and 15 losses, and they remain fifth in the Eastern Conference.

On the 21st, the Heat arrived in Orlando.

The 22nd is Chinese New Year's Eve.

In the morning, Tang Bei called home, where they were having their New Year's Eve dinner.

In the evening, he and John Liu found a Chinese restaurant and had a not-so-authentic New Year's Eve dinner prepared by Mexicans.

"What the hell? They put sugar in the dumpling filling and the braised pork didn't have any caramel coloring..." Tang Bei complained after finishing the New Year's Eve dinner.

"The sugar was added to the wrong place," John Liu also complained.

In the evening, the Heat faced the Magic on the road and defeated them for the third time in the regular season, achieving a six-game winning streak.

Tang Bei and O'Neal faced off once again. Whether it was for the All-Star vote, the position of the fourth-best center, or a personal grudge, both sides went all out.

唐北22投15中，13罚8中，轰下38分13篮板，命中率68.2%。

奥尼尔20投10中，10罚6中，砍下26分14篮板，命中率50%。

According to the media, O'Neal dismissed two martial arts coaches, got back on track, and performed even better than in the previous two games. As he becomes more familiar with Tang Bei's playing style, his future matchups should get better and better.

On Sunday, January 24th, the fourth week of All-Star voting ended, and voting channels closed.

Tang Bei received 18 votes this week, bringing his total to 97 votes, second only to Jordan's 103 million in the entire league, making him the starting center for the Eastern Conference All-Star Game in the 92/93 season.

Pippen finished third in the league with 93 votes.

Barkley is fourth with 83 votes. O'Neal is fifth with 76 votes.

Numerous mainstream media outlets have conducted various analyses of the NBA All-Star voting results, with Tang Bei, who received the second-highest number of votes, being the most prominent figure.

A very important aspect of the All-Star Game is the popularity of the players. Tang Bei ranked second in the entire league, which simply means that he is currently second in popularity.

ESPN's analysis is that Tang Bei's playing style is highly entertaining, and his average stats are the best among all centers in the league, even surpassing the three super centers.

This earned him immense popularity in Miami, securing 65% of the total votes, which was the most important reason.

Another important reason was that Tang Bei challenged the Tianxin Dojo, founded by Hollywood A-list action star Steven Siegel, leading to its closure and a significant drop in Siegel's reputation, causing him to fall from A-list to B-list. This, in turn, garnered Tang Bei a large number of votes.

Basically, this analysis has been recognized by mainstream media.

With the voting concluded, the starting lineup for this NBA All-Star game has been officially announced and broadcast on television.

Eastern Conference: Don Bei, Larry Johnson, Pippen, Jordan, Isiah Thomas
Western Conference: David Robinson, Karl Malone, Charles Barkley, Clyde Drexler, John Stockton

"The host has become an NBA All-Star starter, achieving a new accomplishment and obtaining a treasure: two hundred Dongwang Buxin Pills."

"nice one."

Tang Bei was overjoyed to see this notification; he could live a few more years.

Having become the All-Star starting center, Tang Bei began to await good news, as Eric Fleischer had already gone to Detroit yesterday.

Hummer previously promised to offer him a contract of no less than two years and three million dollars if he became an All-Star starter.

That evening, before the game, he received good news: after being named an All-Star starter, his jersey sales exploded, with over 1.5 sold in a single day.

This is one of the benefits he gained after becoming an All-Star starting center.

Although he won't get a single penny, this shows that his commercial value and influence are skyrocketing. If he had such sales with the Hornets, how could he possibly be traded?
Next, the Heat defeated the Mavericks, who were last in the league, by a large margin at home. Tang Bei scored 25 points and grabbed 21 rebounds.

With a seven-game winning streak and a record of 22 wins and 15 losses, the Heat overtook the Celtics and moved into the top half of the Eastern Conference, ranking fourth.

Tang Bei only scored 25 points because his teammates were in good form, and at the coaching staff's request, he reduced his shot attempts.

His playing style is too physically demanding, and with the regular season almost halfway through, the Heat coaching staff is somewhat worried that he will hit the rookie wall.

The Heat's focus is now on the playoffs. In less important games, as their starting player and a rookie, he needs to conserve his energy.

The next morning, Tang Bei was carrying his luggage, preparing to leave with John Liu.

Eric Fleischer called, beaming, and said, "Don, the contract with Hummer is finalized. Can you guess how big it is?"

"That must be bigger than the original, ten million over two years?" Tang Bei deliberately exaggerated.

"Ha ha……"

Eric Fleischer chuckled awkwardly and said, "Don, you seem to be in a good mood. Well, you don't need to guess. Three years, eight million dollars. Happy?"

"Eight million? Eric, well done."

That adds up to over two million US dollars a year, which isn't much less than his basketball contract, making Tang Bei very happy.

Eric Fleischer laughed excitedly, "I'll take 10%, Don. After investing in you for so long, I've finally made some money."

"congratulations!"

Tang Bei asked curiously, "Eric, why did the Hummer price go up?"

"How could they possibly raise the price? I raised the price, and they only agreed after considering it for a whole day."

Eric Fleischer then added, "Don, your All-Star votes are second only to Jordan. We've all underestimated your fame and influence, which is why I raised the price."

"When will the contract be signed?"

"The Heat have a home game on the 28th, and the signing will take place at 9 a.m. Hummer's people will go to Miami today to prepare for the signing ceremony."

"it is good."

Eric Fleischer added, "Also, Don, I'm heading to New York soon to see if I can convince Fila to take a big gamble on you."

"A big gamble?" Tang Bei was taken aback.

Eric Fleischer's voice became excited as he said, "After all, your vote count is only tens of thousands less than Jordan's. Reebok took a big gamble on O'Neal, but he's more than two hundred thousand fewer votes than you."

"Tang, you know kendo, boxing, wrestling, and kung fu, but that's all just a gimmick."

"Isn't that Japanese sword master going to challenge you? I heard that Kendo is very popular in Japan. If you defeat him, it will be another big publicity stunt that can increase your international influence."

"Right now, in the entire league, only Jordan has real international influence; the other members of the Dream Team are barely making ends meet."

A very small percentage of superstars are lucky to get a second-tier contract; the vast majority of superstars and almost all All-Stars only get a third-tier contract.

Tang Bei's mind was in turmoil because of Eric's words. If he really got a top-tier contract, his status in the NBA would be greatly enhanced.

"By the way, Tang, as long as you can gain international influence, I will design a business development plan for you and build a business team."

John Liu, who was eavesdropping on Tang Bei's phone call, became excited upon hearing Eric Fleischer's words.

“Tang, me, me,” John Liu said excitedly as he saw Tang Bei hang up the phone.

"What? When did you start stuttering?" Tang Bei said irritably.

"By next year, your English reading and writing skills should be pretty good, and you won't need me as your translator and English teacher anymore. I'll be unemployed then, and I'll find another job in your business team..."

"Alright, alright, we'll talk about it later. Do you think international influence is easy to come by?"

"I trust you, and serving you is the greatest luck of my life."

Tang Bei thought of the Olympics and the World Championships. If he wanted to become a world-class superstar, he had to participate in these two competitions, at least the Olympics.

Even Michael Jordan needed the Olympics to reach a global audience, so he certainly couldn't miss that step.

Moreover, participating in the Olympics and World Championships might just allow you to obtain some treasures from the treasure chest.

On the morning of the 26th, at the headquarters of Fila Corporation in New York, Eric Fleischer was negotiating with a group of company executives.

The opposing team was led by the president, a large group of people, while he was alone, but he exuded a powerful aura.

His confidence stems from his strength, which comes from Tang Bei's ability, his second-highest All-Star vote in the entire league, his potential international influence, and his potential for wider recognition.

"Based on Tang's current stats, it's not an exaggeration to say that he is the best center in the NBA. Neither the three super centers nor Shaq can compare to him."

"Tang averages ten dunks per game and injures one player per game. His signature move is the Tornado. His playing style is not only the most entertaining in the entire league, but second only to Michael Jordan."

"Currently, his jersey sales, I mean the Heat jerseys, have exceeded 15 in just over a month, ranking 12th in the entire league, and will soon surpass Larry Johnson."

"He also possesses cross-disciplinary skills in boxing, wrestling, kung fu, and kendo. He will soon face off against Japanese sword god Masahiro Miyazaki, and he will surely have a breakout impact."

“He has established a private martial arts club in Miami, which is where he trains in boxing, wrestling and martial arts. I would like to invite you to attend.”

"He will definitely join the Chinese national team and have the opportunity to participate in the Olympics. With his strength and playing style, he is very likely to lead the Chinese team into the world's top eight. Sooner or later, he will become a world superstar with a world-class influence."

"Behind him is a country with a population of over a billion, representing a huge consumer market, and he is the only NBA star in that country."

"I think he's absolutely worth Fila taking a gamble, a big gamble."

"I believe your chances of winning are greater than Reebok's chances of winning by betting on O'Neal."

During Eric Fletcher's passionate speech, the conference room fell into deep thought, until finally President Williams Leo spoke:

“Mr. Fleischer, you make a great point, but a signature shoe contract requires a huge investment of resources, and we need to do more careful research before making a decision.”

(End of this chapter)